


Let's make it a game night

by thwz



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: 2000 AU, Gen, M/M, friendship but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-22
Updated: 2014-02-28
Packaged: 2018-01-13 09:54:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1221895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thwz/pseuds/thwz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seb is lazy and asks for a free day, Jim joins in. Night full of video games, game shows and all kinds of ...fun... ensues. A 2000AU story with a bit of a twist.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It’s been five months since Jim shouted out what had been torturing him for years. He wasn’t hoping for anything at time, no. Probably not. But he got a confirmation, he got a promise and Sebastian was doing everything to avoid facing the fact he was not going to fulfil his part of the deal. Jim was doing great; since the dinner date he became noticeably more mature, independent. Even when Seb tried to do something ‘the usual way’, James would politely ensure him that, “no Sebastian, I can do this by myself”.  
He’d go out on his own, occasionally, just to come back with some groceries, or a small gadget, a book, a gift. Sometimes he’d bring alcohol. He never drank much enough to get himself intoxicated, he obviously treated it as a symbol of his responsibility.  
Seb never thought his friend could actually make such an effort – and he knew it could mean only one thing: Jim really wanted to move further in their relationship.

Three scrambled eggs hissed aggressively on the pan; Seb poked the gooey mixture with a spatula. He’s been doing it for years, at least once a week, but there was still a slight chance it will come out crappy. It was definitely not the place and time for this kind of musings. A small piece of half-coagulated mass fell off the pan as his hand twitched. Well, shit. He cleaned the cooker just yesterday but a single spatter of yolk was enough to ruin his work. And his mood.

Now irritated, Seb sat down with a plate, a piece of toast, a mug of coffee and a tablet. He rather enjoyed lonely breakfasts, without James he could finish his food before it went cold, and even drink coffee in peace, lazily browsing through his feeds and reading morning news.  
Today the news was depressing, just like the grey sky outside of which he caught a glimpse over the screen. It drizzled and, according to the weather forecast on the bbc website, it was cold as fuck. Normally Seb would learn it first-hand, having left for the morning shopping, but today he barely crawled out of his bed and going all the way down to get fresh pastries seemed like a very bad idea. He had to settle for a toast, it was not like Jim would appreciate his effort – milk with cereal was still his first choice when it came to breakfast, although he did try to eat more regularly.

Then again, these days Seb was no longer sure what Jim did or did not appreciate.

There used to be these short and rare moments when James would let his guard down and sneak in a compliment or two – usually when he was drunk. He’d mumble his weird but charming confessions, clinging to Seb’s arm or trying to stroke him by the hair; He’d say how much he likes Seb’s shampoo, or comment on intriguing lightplay on his unshaved jaw (!). One year his eyes were hypnotizing, the other – his hands smooth and beautifully built, and once Jim went as far as praising his face and ‘almost invisible’ scar.

Still, after initial shock Seb learned to deal with drunk Jim and his compliments. The thing was, throughout the last few months Jim hadn’t needed alcohol to be nice and thus there was no way to prepare for what Seb started to view as personal attacks (aimed at his self-comfort) rather than praise.  
He learned a lot of what must have been Jim’s secrets. Sometimes they were sweet, it was genuinely pleasant to hear that your hard work was not in vain, after all. But most of them succeeded only at making him grossly uncomfortable. These perhaps should have stayed secret.

Seb breathed in, enjoying the rich aroma of his coffee. He dreaded to think he’ll have to get to work soon – in fact, he didn’t feel like doing anything today. Quite the opposite, he felt like being a lazy bum, playing video games and having junk food for dinner. Perhaps a bottle of beer, too. Okay, there was a pile of projects on his desk, but James could do most of work himself. It was a great idea, Seb smiled over his mug, it would keep him occupied for the most of the day…  
The kitchen door opened silently and a mass of black hair peeked in through the crack.  
“Good morning” Jim’s voice was hoarser than usually; most probably these were the first words he spoke that morning, so there was no need to worry –but Seb ignored the logical explanation and made a mental note that it will be a good idea to feed him cold medicine, just in case. Considering the weather, the possibility of Jim catching a cold was not that small.

“H-hello” he let out a sigh. Seb was already halfway up from his seat. “D-didn’t want t-to wake you, it’s so c-crappy outside…” he put his plate and mug in the sink and filled the frying pan with water – he’ll do the dishes later, no point to bother before Jim’s done with his breakfast – oh, and he still needs to scrub the cooker… Sebastian heard Jim back in the living room, getting milk from the fridge. Just as expected, cereal was on the menu.  
“I t-think I’ll take a b-break from work t-today” Seb began, observing Jim preparing his meal. “I’m not f-feeling very well”  
“Great idea, we did a lot yesterday” Jim raised his head to look Seb in the eyes, a pale smile on his face, stamped with wrinkled bed-sheet. He was wearing Seb’s nightgown, as usual drowning in the masses of soft red fabric, so contrasting against his light complexion. His own green nightgown was hanging in the closet, abandoned and unloved; Seb couldn’t recall the last time Jim wore it. The smaller man always claimed it wasn’t warm enough and continued to borrow Sebastian’s robe. Sometimes, especially recently, Seb would secretly fear that there might be some other reason for that preference but frankly, the last trace of his ownership has long since disappeared from it. Besides, as long as Jim was warm and content there was nothing to complain about. Right?

The box of cereal was almost empty, with no more than two tablespoons of choco balls and a handful if sweet cocoa-flavoured dust and crumbs inside. Jim held the box high above his bowl and shook carefully, just to see half of his miniscule portion land on the counter around it. “Damn” he swore, anxiously crushing the brightly coloured cardboard in his shaky hands – Seb was almost sure he didn’t realize he was doing it – “not again, crap.”  
Sebastian reached to the cupboard and discover it was their last box of cereal. He turned to Jim hanging above his partially ruined breakfast “I lost my appetite anyway” he shrugged “Guess it’s just milk for me today”.

As there was no point in trying to convince him to change his mind, Seb settled on cleaning the counter.  
“A-about the free d-day” he began shyly. It looked like Jim had some plans for today as well.  
“Hmm? Jim was already by the door with a fresh glass of milk “Oh, there’s always something to do, isn’t there? I think you mentioned some game last week? I’d love to watch you beat it” he smiled and took a sip. Seb felt uncomfortable seeing light milk moustache over his lips, and even more so when Jim licked it off. “It’s nice to think at least one of us can make any use of their hands…”  
Seb ignored the last remark.“ S-sure, why not. Let’s make it a g-game n-night. Or d-day, a-actually.” He forced a smile and returned to the cleaning. Suddenly there was a lot to do in the kitchen, and the egg-stained cooker and cocoa counter were just a beginning.

It was three quarters later when Seb finally marched out of the kitchen, smelling of cleaning chemicals and chlorine, but cheerful again. Cleaning had this effect on him, especially when he didn’t have other responsibilities to take care of. To his surprise, Jim was already waiting for him, all dressed up and seated on the sofa with a pile of game boxes on his lap, scrutinizing an unwrapped one closely.  
“Wow, y-you’re all s-set and ready aren’t you?”  
“I am, yes.” Jim did not take his eyes off the game description. “I think I would like to watch you play this one.”  
“L-let me see” Seb collapsed on the sofa next to Jim and peered over his shoulder “Shi-shivers? Are you s-sure? It’s a h-horror, you know”  
“I can read Seb, and yeah, I am sure. It says it recognizes and reacts to the player’s fears, and I’d like to see it in action.” Sebastian noticed a little smirk dancing on Jim’s lips. He was intrigued; this alone seemed like a good reason to spend a few hours playing this game. He got Shivers months ago, but never got around checking it out; he thought a specific atmosphere was required to fully experience this kind of story. But hell, covering the windows should be enough. Besides, let’s face it, this game wouldn’t manage to scare either of them with its fancy mechanisms even in the middle of a stormy night.

***

“Don’t go there SEB DON’T”  
“I h-h-have to, l-let m-me goo!”  
Jim wasn’t simply clenching Seb’s arm, he was frozen in an awkward position between sitting and standing, resting most of his weight on the blonde’s neck and simultaneously trying to rip the controller from his hands. Seb was doing a great job at retaining the pad, but a way worse at actually controlling his character – a sudden movement of camera meant that their avatar tripped and fell on the gooey ground dangerously near to the seemingly bottomless hole.  
“Don’t go near the water I’M BEGGING YOU”

  
“I-it’s the wat-ter or t-the h-hole, Jim, I won’t g-get any nearer this t-thing” Seb successfully shook Jim off and the smaller man fell on the pillows and abandoned pizza box. It was 5 PM and they were approaching the final battle – or so they thought. It didn’t take Jim more than ten seconds to once again wrap himself closely around Sebastian’s torso. The blonde peeked at his face, sweaty and shining, with widened pupils and hair in mess even bigger than usually. His glasses were stamped with greasy fingerprints and the rest of Jim was blurred. Sudden scream of their protagonist wouldn’t be enough to sober him up, but Jim’s shriek did the job just fine.  
“I TOLD YOU!” Jim buried his face in Seb’s chest “WATER IS NOT GOOD”

  
The surface of the dark, muddy water parted and Seb watched in horror a gigantic tentacle reaching out to grab his character by the leg. Barely aware of his actions he followed the instructions on screen and after several quick movements he broke lose and led the avatar near the wall, the only seemingly safe place in the area. Then he paused the game and threw the controller aside with a loud sigh. Jim was still hugging him tightly; he could feel warm breath against his chest.  
‘Did it kill you?’ James mumbled into Seb’s t-shirt. The blonde felt his stomach muscles flex.

  
‘N-no. I k-kicked its ass and p-paused’ he switched on his seat a bit hoping Jim would let go. Thankfully, that seemed to have been enough to calm his friend down, as Jim slowly straightened and turned to look at the screen. A big red writing was indeed exclaiming that this nightmare had been, at least temporarily, stopped. Jim turned back and looked Sebastian in the eyes. ‘I think we’ve had enough for today’ he said feebly. Seb nodded; even his hands were sore after hours of pushing numerous combinations on the pad; he didn’t even want to think about his back. What he really wanted now was another slice of pizza and perhaps a cold one… he straightened his legs and frowned when he heard the joints clicking. Jim moaned silently, rubbing his own neck. Of them two, he definitely moved about much more and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he fell asleep early today.

  
Now on his feet, Seb struggled towards the light switch but put his hand down before he reached it. Nah, it was pleasant this way, and he could imagine the pain caused by such a sudden flash of light. Instead, he opened the fridge and after a brief inspection announced to Jim ‘I’m g-going to h-have a beer. D-do you want one?’ The days when he would have to go out to get a drink were long gone, but it was somewhat arrogant to offer one to Jim. Aw, screw it, he thought, the rules have changed. The bigger was his surprise when he heard Jim’s answer: ‘do we have these small cans?’  
‘N-no just b-bottles’ he looked back at the couch. He expected to see Jim’s back, but there he was, his hands hanging across the back of the sofa, and his face now painted with a cheeky smile - or was it just his imagination? Seb shrugged. ‘You d-don’t have to d-drink whole b-bottle though’  
‘Grab one for me, then. I feel like I may need some kind of distraction.’

With a bottle opener he found on the lower shelf of their coffee table Sebastian opened two bottles of light beer and handed one to his friend. Their mock fireplace was on so the room was filled with dim orange light and sounds of a quiz show they found on tv. The pizza they had ordered a few hours earlier was sadly long gone, but Seb found a box of crackers – the blonde decided that drinking with relatively empty stomachs is not the best idea and encouraged Jim to have some with his beer.

‘It’s Pangaea, you dimwit!’ Jim shrieked irritiatedly at one of the contestants who failed to answer a simple question about prehistoric supercontinents. Seb chuckled and nudged him playfully ‘Why d-don’t you go and win all th-the awards, mr K-know-it-all?’  
‘I’m better than THAT’ Jim pointed at a lady frowning with effort at the sight of the zoomed photograph of human skin ‘Besides,’ he continued ‘we don’t need more money, don’t we.’  
‘Guess not.’

One bottle later Seb got up to take a leak. When he came back with his second beer, Jim was surfing through the channels. His bottle had been emptied and by this time he got only slightly tipsy. He didn’t hold his alcohol well, but it shouldn’t be a problem, Seb tried to calm himself down. He was tired, it was dark and warm and he’ll probably fall asleep before he starts reciting compliments.

  
‘What, it’s oh-over already?’ Seb collapsed by Jim’s side. He could swear they were barely through the second round when he left the room.  
‘No.’ The channels were changing with the speed that could hardly let the blond recognize what was on. He wasn’t sure if Jim could do that, either. ‘That… that ‘Jones’ person couldn’t name the moons of Jupiter. Even three of them!’ he dropped the remote on his lap and the screen flashed with colours – it was some kind of kids’ channel. ‘I decided it will be a torture to watch any of these idiots actually win something. I’d rather see something that’s stupid by design.’ He pointed at Tom and Jerry chasing each other around the house. Sebastian, half consciously reached out to pat his friend on the back. ‘There, there. C-cartoons sound grrrreat’. He knew Jim wasn’t particularly fond of old American animations, but he didn’t feel like pointing it out to him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night ends before it really started, but the morning will bring more action.

Some time passed; Seb wasn’t sure if it was an hour or a little bit more but he couldn’t care less; he was lying half-stretched on the sofa giggling at cartoony animals. The fourth bottle sat half-empty on the coffee table, next to Jim’s second, now with just a few drops left on the bottom. Sebastian rearranged himself on the couch and somehow his head landed on Jim’s lap. Now, that was comfortable. Jim was strangely silent but still definitely not asleep; although he didn’t react to sudden weight on his legs, his fingers soon found their way and begun to stroke short blond hair. Seb nearly purred as they wandered a bit and touched his ear, following the spiral shape of cartilage. Then they came back to get entwined in his hair and after a minute or so repeated their lazy travel.  
It was nice, Seb thought staring at Courage the Cowardly dog picking up his own eyes from the floor. He really felt good, so good it seemed like a sensible idea to share this thought.  
‘It’s nice’ he exclaimed, a bit too loudly perhaps, as Jim legs jumped under Sebastian’s head.  
‘Huh? It- it is, yeah’ he mumbled, his eyes fixed at the screen.  
So nice, Seb still dwelled on the topic, why didn’t they do it more often? He wasn’t now sure what exactly they should do more often, get drunk or cuddle, but they certainly should repeat this experience from now on. Definitely.

Jim’s hand slid down the blond’s jaw. It wasn’t perfectly smooth anymore; the evening scruff gave the skin rough texture. Sebastian expected to feel his slender fingers travel back up, but they didn’t. Jim paused for a few seconds and cautiously put his hand over Seb’s mouth, tracing the shape of his lips with his index finger. The blond closed his eyes, focusing on this new, unknown and unexpected sensation, feeling somewhat curious and a little aroused. James’s hand made two loops, then slid slowly down and rested on his own thigh. Seb waited.

James’s breathing, once quick and shallow deepened and became more regular. Sebastian opened his eyes, but in poor light and from his position he couldn’t quite make out the brunette’s expression. He decided to take a risk:  
‘Jim?’ a whisper escaped his lips. No reaction. Seb carefully sat up to discover Jim was deep in Morpheus’ arms, his big eyes shut and delicate, kissy lips slightly opened. Seb smiled to himself as he sat enjoying the rare view of his friend’s childish face so peaceful and smooth, without reddened eyes, without grimaces of worry or anger. But he couldn’t just leave him sleeping like this. Staying all night on the couch had proved to be quite destructive for one’s back. At least that was the reason Seb thought up while observing Jim in his sleepy and soft glory. Slowly, he raised himself up and flexed his stiffened arms and legs. His spine clicked as he straightened up – was he really ready to carry James to bed? Was James ready to be carried to bed, for that matter? There was only one way to check, Seb decided, led by his somewhat tipsy logic.

Jim weighed much less than a grown man should, but at moments at this it was quite handy. Except, when you can’t stand straight yourself, it is still even harder with a person swung across your back. Seb didn’t have problem picking his friend up, but the way down the hall and into their bedroom was long and eventful, as he was trying to catch balance and not smash James’s head against doorframe or wall or that stupid armchair standing in the middle of the fucking hall (was it always there? How come he never tripped over it??). Jim barely noticed he was being transported; he let out a few silent moans as Seb was swinging him back and forth, but didn’t seem bothered at all. Even when he finally landed (after being not particularly carefully thrown) on Sebastian’s bed, he simply rolled to the wall, as if making some space for the blond, and rested with a content sigh.

Seb understood it as invitation and lied down by his side. The room was spinning around him, so he shut his eyes, trying to calm his racing heart down. After several minutes, he wriggled out of his trousers and threw them to the ground.

Jim mumbled in his sleep. The warmth was radiating from his body, along with the smell of beer, sweat and that expensive cologne Augusta gave him every Christmas. All Seb really wanted was to put his face in the spot between Jim’s shoulder blades, his arms around his waist, and sleep, sleep without worrying and pretending and lying.  
He didn’t dare do that, obviously. He just stayed on his back trying to take in all that body heat and smells, and he didn’t quite notice when he was asleep too.

  
Waking up was a long, lazy process. First, acknowledging that the room is filled with light. Second, that it’s hot. Struggle with eyelids that wouldn’t open, someone else’s warm breath on his neck, too many hands and legs, a torso glued to his like a starfish…   
It looked like Jim, too, wanted some cuddling last night. Seb felt a little trapped in the embrace of the other man – not because it wasn’t pleasant, of course, but he was afraid to move a muscle and wake James from his slumber. The blond focused on recalling the last night’s events and sighed with relief; nothing they did was particularly embarrassing. He closed his eyes again and enjoyed the closeness he’d normally avoid, and soon dozed off again.  
‘Sebby?’ Jim’s voice broke into his dreamless nap.

‘Hmm?’ how long will he manage to stay without opening his eyes, faking morning confusion?   
He felt Jim’s warm fingers stroking his cheek, time after time. It was too good to be true.  
‘Wake up, you big cat!’ there was no point to go one with the impression, Seb decided.   
‘Are you drunk?’ he mumbled, his mouth and tongue a bit numb and sticky. Jim, who seemed perfectly conscious gave him a confused look: ‘Is this how I act when I’m drunk?’ His hand was still resting against the blond’s jaw, as if there was nothing strange about it.  
Was it indeed? Seb considered for a moment. ‘Well, yeah.’ It was high time he addressed this problem, if it was a problem to begin with.  
Jim’s dark eyes widened in surprise. ‘Is that what I’ve been doing last night?’ There was a slight suggestion of blush on his face, but he was doing relatively well. Seb wished he could say the same about himself.

‘That too… before you fell asleep, that is.’ His heart was once again racing ‘B-but nothing happened. We were as decent as one can get.’ He couldn’t help feeling like his voice sounded a bit disappointed. Jim caught that flawlessly and, despite embarrassment, put on his “flirty” smile. 

‘You make it sound as if it was a bad thing…’   
Seb frowned. The cheek this little shit had sometimes, acting all provocative and pretending he doesn’t know. He swallowed loudly, and, not changing his expression, slid his hand down, on the brunette’s hip.   
‘I don’t know, isn’t it?’  
He congratulated himself as James’s face became beet red, but soon he regretted this early triumph. The smaller man, still burning red, pressed his lips against his. And it wasn’t a shy peck of a kiss, but a proper movie smooch that took a few long seconds before James pulled back, catching breath. Surprise took Seb’s voice away.  
‘Here, I did it. I made a move, so that you don’t start whimpering that you used me.’ The brunette moved in Seb’s arms for even closer hug. His voice was a bit screechy from anger and his breath didn’t smell pleasant at all but Sebastian was shivering with excitement. ‘And yes, my breath stinks, but so does yours. Now pretend we’re still drunk.’

  
I could as well be, Seb thought before he gave in to this warmth, these old, familiar smells of body he loved so much.  
They stayed in late, sharing shy and sloppy kisses between inexperienced mouths. Pressing lips on necks and collarbones. Dragging skittish fingers on bare chests and sweaty backs, tracing happy trails and scars on bellies. Touching feet and squeezing whatever was there to squeeze.   
No words came of it, just a few breaths which sounded just a little bit like ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘Thank you’. No L-words. But the day was young.

 

THE END


End file.
